


Presumption of Innocence

by setosdarkness



Series: OTP Collection - JuHaku [29]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Serial Killers, JuHaku Week, M/M, Please Proceed With Caution, Prompt: Childhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-03-11 05:56:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3316718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/setosdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>University student Hakuryuu grabs the attention of the popular model Judar, by acting as though he doesn't care that his neighbor is a celebrity. </p><p>[alternatively: Ren Hakuryuu is an undercover cop who investigates Judar, a popular model who they suspect moonlights as a notorious serial killer.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. presumption of innocence

**Author's Note:**

> notes: This really is for the "childhood" prompt. Also, everything is in Hakuryuu's POV :)  
> others: Title is from "innocent until proven guilty". Ahh, lastly, to those who've read my fics from other fandoms would probably know that I have a weakness for… unreliable narrators & plot twist stuff. Yes.

•••

Hakuryuu walks up the stairs to his second-floor apartment, visibly wincing with each step that rings in the mostly-empty hallway. The fluorescent lights are too bright, almost sufficient to lull anyone into thinking that it's still quite early.

Well, it _is_ early—if only that it's early in the wee hours of the morning.

Right now, Hakuryuu is a studious, hard-working university student who doesn't mind pulling all-nighters for the sake of his projects, though he'd most definitely prefer to do the all-nighter while in the comfort of his own room.

He's an industrious student who's too tired and exhausted from dragging his overtaxed brain and body from the campus practically on the other end of the city, at two in the morning, then up two flights of stairs. He's a poor guy who's only thinking of finally sinking into his bed that he doesn't notice that he doesn't make the trek back to his second-floor apartment alone.

There's a guy at the corner of his peripheral vision, dressed too stylishly for it to just be due to a trip to a club somewhere, heavy make-up on his face looking unnaturally natural.

The poor university student has probably seen him around, because that face is too striking to not be in some billboard or magazine cover, but at the moment, at two-sixteen in the morning, he really can't give a damn.

Hakuryuu sticks the key into the doorknob and curses in dismay as the knob refuses to turn. There are jingling sounds as more keys are tried. There are more softly-sputtered curses as more keys failed their job to open the door for him.

His next-door neighbor doesn't attempt to hide his blatant interest in watching him fumble with his keys.

His hands are shaking from tiredness, though it will probably be better if he's drunk.

This is too stressful to be done sober.

"…you're interesting."

Hakuryuu turns to regard the guy mere meters away from him, too close even if they're neighbors. He's taller than Hakuryuu, even though it's not very evident, given the way he slouches as he leans against the corridor wall, arms crossed over his chest, small clinking sounds as his outfit with way too many dangling jewelry shifts with his movements. The motion is enough to drag Hakuryuu's attention to the other's bared midriff, but it's only for a moment.

Hakuryuu immediately lifts his gaze and returns the other's curious stare coolly.

Even if he looks like a bedraggled commoner compared to his neighbor, he's not going to back down.

"It's like, you don't even care that I'm here at all."

Hakuryuu's lips twist into a polite smile that has always pissed off his colleagues, because it looked too haughty, according to them. " _Should_ I be paying attention to you?"

The other's face lights up in obvious delight, almost as though he gets his kicks at being belittled and ignored.

He's strange.

It's even stranger that a goody-goody student like Hakuryuu is paying attention to him like this.

The delight then fades and is replaced by an expression that just screams about this entire scenario being _an interesting game_.

Hakuryuu turns his attention back to his uncooperative doorknob, finally placing his bag, weighed down by reports, by his favored gadgets, by his portable first-aid kit, amongst many others, on the floor. He kneels down, already wincing at the thought of the dirt that he needs to scrub off from his pants. He then systematically empties his bag's contents to search for the right set of keys, steadfastly ignoring the way his busybody neighbor also makes himself comfortable, a few steps beside him. He doesn't seem to be taking out his phone and recording his searching process, so Hakuryuu doesn't really have a strong motivation to ask him to get the hell away from him.

After a few more moments of futile searching, Hakuryuu sighs and rubs a hand over his tired eyes. He can still _feel_ the other staring at him, but against common sense, it doesn't bother him too much.

This is probably a good time to admit that he really did lose his keys.

"Hey, since it seems that you really lost your keys," and wouldn't he know about that, after staring at him like a cat about to pounce on a barely-flailing mouse, "do you wanna stay in my apartment for the night? …Or at least while you wait for building security?"

Hakuryuu snorts derisively, because that has got to be the lamest pick-up line he's ever heard.

"No, thank you," he says instead, because he's still a polite university kid.

"Aw, come _ooo_ n! Do you think building security is awake at this time? You're gonna end up spending the night outside your apartment, you know!" The other's tone almost comes close to outright whining. It's so childish that it really doesn't fit with the gaudy, _mature_ clothing. "Plus, nobody in their right mind will turn down such an offer from someone hot like me!"

"Hah, I'd rather freeze in hell rather than take up the offer of such a…" Hakuryuu lets his gaze linger pointedly at the studded scarf and metal buckles on the other's boots, "…weird-looking man."

"Hey, I resent that! I _always_ look _super_ hot, okay!"

"Whatever," Hakuryuu murmurs, while gathering his stuff back into his book bag.

"Hey!!!"

Hakuryuu already has a place in mind, but he can feel the other's discontent at being brushed off that easily. He returns most of his stuff inside his bag except for one tiny thing.

"Wait—"

Hakuryuu feels a strong grip circle his wrist, intention to stop him from walking away clear from the other's solid hold.

"…Let me go."

"I won't!" The other replies cheerfully, tugging at him again, a little more forcibly this time. The other's golden bangles make clanging sounds at the motion. "Why are you so angry at _me_? I'm just offering to—"

Hakuryuu reads the other's movements easily, as the other guy suddenly pulls at his wrist sharply, in an effort to make him stumble into his waiting arms. Hakuryuu already knows that kind of move, so he easily catches his balance, his right hand still caught in the other's grip while his prosthetic left hand push at the other's side, sliding briefly against the material of the other's loose scarf.

"Let me go," Hakuryuu repeats after their light tousling, thankfully not enough to attract the attention of any other tenants in the building.

Wordlessly, the striking man lets him go, ruby eyes practically shining at him and at his defiance.

Hakuryuu walks away without another word.

The tiny object is already gone from his hands.

•••

In mere two minutes, Hakuryuu is already out of the apartment complex, briskly walking with intent that's so different from his tired countenance from earlier.

He easily spots the rental van painted with advertisement for a popular cable provider. He doesn't even have time to do the 'secret knock' on the windowpane, before the door slides open and he's dragged unceremoniously inside.

"You're lucky nobody's in the area or else they would think that you guys are kidnapping me," Hakuryuu complains as Alibaba manhandles him inside the van, refurnished so that instead of what is usually expected out of a van, there's practically an entire world of electronics and surveillance equipment inside.

There's no more fatigue in his face as he gratefully accepts the hot chocolate that Aladdin hands him. Using his left hand, he removes the listening device pinned on his bag's straps, and hands it over to Morgiana's waiting hands.

"You might have laid on the haughtiness too much though, Hakuryuu?" Alibaba purses his lips as he unsubtly tries to inspect if Hakuryuu got any bruises from the last altercation. Hakuryuu sighs internally, because Alibaba can be such a mother-hen at times. They're all investigators so he should know that he's not fragile.

Hakuryuu shrugs as he admits that he did act haughtier than intended and planned. "It's fine, because I _actually_ managed to plant a bug on him."

"You WHAAAAT?!" Alibaba and Aladdin shriek in unison, along with some others who screech at him for his words.

Hakuryuu shrugs off their concerns and praises, instead placing a finger over his lips in an effort to make them be quieter. Soundproof this van may be, but it doesn't hurt to be more careful.

Aladdin is on a video call with Yamraiha, who will most definitely report this success to their boss.

"That's too dangerous, Hakuryuu…"

Hakuryuu sips at his hot chocolate, looking as though he's considering their words. "It's a bit careless, but it's still a success, isn't it?"

"Well… you're right in that nobody else has ever caught the attention of our suspect… and nobody else has been able to be in close quarters with that guy… but…" Alibaba bites his lip as he considers the dangerous situation Hakuryuu has planted himself to, never mind that they're working undercover to expose the culprit behind the recent serial killings in the area.

" _That guy_ is such a spoiled brat that he'll only notice someone if they don't give in to him," Hakuryuu says critically, peering into the remains of his hot chocolate drink. His expression looks pensive, as though he's expecting the drink to provide him with philosophical answers. "If they also look… _bad_ or _less_ compared to him…"

He lets his voice trail off as he hands over his now-empty cup to Morgiana, smiling slightly at her to help ease her worry. It's nice that they're all worried about him, but they shouldn't let that cloud their judgment at all.

It never bodes well for anyone if they're too clouded with emotions after all.

Aladdin talks with Yamraiha more, discussing about bringing up the live feed of the bug placed upon their only suspect behind the _Black Magi_ serial killer.

It's such a fantastical name for such a _real_ serial killer, but it's only fitting for a magician-like killer who's able to elude the police, while leaving the trademark _black_ blood on the crime scene. The serial killer is also known for only targeting non-convicted criminal scum that are involved in kidnapping, human trafficking, slave trading and child abuse.

There have been at least twenty _known_ victims, but it's possible that the killer had been experimenting with others before.

Hakuryuu browses through the heavy papers on his bag, all about their little progress on the investigation on the Black Magi.

As per the most updated working theory, the Black Magi is a psychopath with lots of issues in their childhood. He's also 98% likely to be a male, because of the sheer amount of strength needed to accomplish his brutal kills. He's also 94% likely to be working entirely alone, because the method of killing appears too personal, too egoistic and too _controlling_ to have more than one person involved.

Many of the more recent victims are key figures in the underground and most of those scums' deaths have somehow made the infamous Kou Family gain more power. That's really the major reason why their task force has set their eyes upon the rising star of the model industry, Judar. Judar's rise to stardom mirrors the timeline of the crimes becoming more frequent, just as it coincides with major gains of influence for the Kou Family. There have also been some photos that have surfaced in the internet about Judar being seen with prominent members of the Kou Family, most often Kouen and Kouha, going to _dungeons_.

It's just so easy to see the link between Judar and the Black Magi serial killer.

It's so easy that it's frustrating to see the lack of hard evidence that links the two of them conclusively.

Things should be easier now though, now that Hakuryuu has managed to plant that tracker upon the other's person.

Hakuryuu looks up at the main computer upon Aladdin's triumphant cry.

On the monitor, there's a blinking red dot that signifies Judar's real-time location.

Poor Judar… he gets to have all the eyes of Sindria's Task Force pinned on all of his movements, while Hakuryuu… smirks at his success as he asks for another cup of hot chocolate.

•••

 **presumption of innocence**  
\- _the burden of proof is on he who declares, not on he who denies_ –  
\- _therefore, one is innocent until proven guilty_ –

•••

> Crucified in a manner akin to the religious figures it used to hit the children it had seemingly rescued from the streets. Arms stretched parallel to the ground. Legs hung limply after they stopped swinging like a demented pendulum. Neck wrapped in the same way as it had wrapped its ring-decorated hands around the unsuspecting kids it had transferred from one type of hell to another in the guise of charity work.
> 
> Father Ashton greeted the patrons of its church on Tuesday morning, started the mass earlier than expected, hung from the ceiling art painting on the Ten Commandments that it had preached but didn't practice. Blood had stopped dripping from its suspended body, blackened blood gooey and sticky at the floors, spilled like a black carpet beckoning the churchgoers inside.
> 
> It had publicly criticized Ren Kouha's heavily reported deviancy and support for what it deemed as unsavory beings.
> 
> It was the 21st reported victim.

•••

"Hey, Hakuryuu!"

Hakuryuu turns around stiffly, honestly surprised to hear his name uttered so freely by _that person_ 's voice, without any honorifics whatsoever, in broad daylight. He fidgets, his hands going to fiddle with his book bag's straps by his right shoulder. He suddenly feels tired, almost overwhelmed, by the brilliant smile that the popular model bestows upon him.

"…why are you calling me by my name?"

He's not that surprised that the other couldn't control himself and just called him by his name, but it's still _unsettling_. It hasn't been too long since their first official introduction as neighbors, so the sudden progress of intimacy is… _unsettling_. Hakuryuu bows his head a little so that he can look at the other's face more subtly. He spies the rugged grin the other sports, looking too handsome for his own good. He understands the appeal of the bad boy look, though Hakuryuu can't say that he's a fan.

He's never had to hold back his opinion about such matters.

But he's here to be a university student who _refuses_ to be starstruck by the other, after all.

"Why not?" Judar asks, unabashed curiosity in his tone. He looks genuinely interested to hear the answer, as though it's really difficult to fathom the thought that he wouldn't be allowed to call anyone by any name he wanted.

There's a beat of silence, filled with words unspoken.

"Because I don't know you," Hakuryuu says haltingly, fidgeting with the straps again, making sure his frown appears visibly upset. He's supposed to look long-suffering from the attention the other gives him. It's not that hard to fake, for many reasons.

"I'm Judar," the popular model introduces himself with such an innocent air, it's almost hard to believe that he's the main suspect for the Black Magi case. He blinks expectantly at Hakuryuu, as though he's waiting for the other to acknowledge his re-introduction. As though the real reason behind this is Hakuryuu not knowing Judar's name.

"Thank you." Hakuryuu says with a gracious smile, ignoring the hand outstretched for a handshake. He has a feeling that hand will try to pull him in again into the other's personal space. He _knows_ that trick and even if he isn't an undercover investigator, he still knows better than to be taken in just like that. "Now, please get out of the way."

"Wow, you sound so polite but you're actually pretty rude, aren't you?" Judar sounds amazed at the possibility that someone could be deliberately polite to coat their words and intentions with a sickly-sweet haze of civility. He blinks those huge, red eyes at him, openly admiring him.

Hakuryuu feels heat creep up on his neck at the steady gaze, pretty sure that this is the first person who ever looked at him with such wonder in his gaze. It's almost hard to believe that this is the main suspect for the animalistic kills that line the streets of the country with mutilated bodies and blackened blood.

"Shut up, Judar," he says and bites his lip. He doesn't mean for that to slip past his mouth. He doesn't mean to use the other's name until their fourth encounter here, because he doesn't want to go along with this person's flow of being overly close with him. He inwardly grimaces at the way Judar grins at him brightly, looking terribly honored to have been called by his name, even if in a negative manner.

"Aw, don't be like that, Hakuryuu!" Judar starts walking backwards towards his own apartment door, but the steps are very small. He still stands close to Hakuryuu, almost as though he doesn't want to let him out of his sight. "Ah, I know! Why don't you come in for some white jasmine tea?"

Hakuryuu freezes, but manages to smooth his expression quickly.

Judar's smile doesn't waver.

According to their surveillance reports, nobody has ever been spotted enter or leave their suspect's apartment, aside from Judar himself. The higher-ups are requiring more solid evidence in order for them to grant a search warrant. Hakuryuu has promised not to endanger himself by entering Judar's apartment, despite the needy invitations.

"…? Hakuryuu…?"

Hakuryuu takes a small step sideways to place a little more distance between them. His own apartment door is just a few paces away. "It's just… surprising to offer such a specific type of tea."

He doesn't mention how that's his favorite drink.

It's too personal, somehow.

"Oh! No, I just… you just don't strike me as someone who likes chocolate. Or coffee."

Hakuryuu freezes again but it doesn't take as long to recover. He thinks of the hot chocolate that Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana continually pass to him after a job well done. He shrugs at the suspect because he doesn't need to explain anything to him, does he?

"Hmph," Hakuryuu breathes out, mumbling some syllables that are not meant to be heard.

He fidgets again with the straps of his bag, before he quickly reaches inside his pocket for his keys. He's planning on making a quick escape to his own apartment, maybe lock himself in and just wait for updates on the police-issued laptop installed inside. He's planning on side-stepping the other's unsubtle crowding, but he doesn't get too far until Judar is reaching out to him, easily closing the meager space separating them, nearly spinning the two of them into a demented dance, which only ends once Hakuryuu's back is slammed against the wall just beside his doorway, Judar looming at him with two hands on either sides of his face.

Hakuryuu frowns at the other's rough handling, though Judar himself doesn't seem to understand his own strength. He looks curiously at Hakuryuu, as though he's really genuinely confused by the thought of someone not jumping up and down in joy at the thought of interacting with him.

"Why are you so angry at _me_?" He asks that again, tilting his head to the left. The strands of hair that are not included in his long braid sway with the motion. It almost looks enchanting, if Hakuryuu doesn't _know_ this kind of trick too. "I'm _just_ —"

Hakuryuu takes the moment to smile sweetly at him, inwardly smirking at how easy it is to catch Judar off-guard, before he elbows the other on the stomach. He's not too worried about causing too much pain. He delights at the way Judar doubles-over exaggeratedly, giving Hakuryuu the escape opportunity to duck into his own apartment room.

Within a few moments, Hakuryuu locks the door behind him securely, then he crosses the distance between the doorway and the study table with the surveillance feeds. He ignores the pinging of the message alerts from a frantic Alibaba, as he focuses on the dot showing Judar still standing just across his door.

•••

Despite the urgency of the Black Magi case – with twenty-one known victims now – the Sindria Task Force is unfortunately unable to focus all of its resources to just this one case, because the world doesn't rest just because there's great evil lurking out there. Still, with mounting pressure from the media and the politicians, they've been getting more and more funds and help in order to crack this case.

Hakuryuu thinks that it's because most of the wealthier politicians have deep connections with the underworld – and they're actually afraid that the next victims will be too close to them and the public might start wising up. It's a way of thinking that Alibaba disapproves of, because he's a giant sap who's too naïve to be a functional investigator. Hakuryuu's long had his fill of being surrounded by people who don't understand or don't even want to attempt to understand his views on things. So he doesn't speak out much during the deliberations and the summary of the case.

He simply sits near the exit, fiddling with one of the many notebooks that he has brought along for his effective disguise of being a university student. He keeps to himself, a few seats away from Alibaba and Morgiana who are huddled together beside Sharrkan. Aladdin is near the front, assisting Yamraiha with her presentation of the areas where they have tracked Judar's locations for the past month. Jafar is presiding over the meeting, since their boss, Sinbad, is out of the country and is only able to join them for a few minutes via video conference.

Judar's locations have been pretty straightforward – going to his modeling agency right in the middle of the business district, going to some hotels for some events and press conferences, going to some malls for his fan events, going to various places for his photo shoots. There are some nights when he goes to _dungeons_ , the so-called den for underworld activity that are off-limits to even the highest level of arrest warrant. The tracker that Yamraiha and Aladdin have co-developed doesn't have the capability to penetrate the signal blocker that is installed ubiquitously in all dungeons. That means that there are a precious couple of hours where they can't place Judar's whereabouts specifically.

Hakuryuu doesn't really want to spend too much time listening to speculations about Judar's whereabouts during those blank times.

While the speculations fly all over the place, along with some interjections about the tips they're able to garner from the fan websites that obsessively track Judar's motions, Hakuryuu flips through his chosen notebook, pages lined with formulas and chemical reactions. He stops on the notes about advanced redox reactions just as Alibaba exclaims something about an update on their anonymous tipper that constantly sends them the pictures and articles about the Kou Family.

"The fifth case is with ---- Kobayashi, one of the suspected smugglers of elephant ivory and rare tortoise shells, and also greatly suspected to be involved in faking documents for travel and doing some international human trafficking. He's one of the widely-known enemies of Iron Wall Koutoku, because they had a huge public row about trading tariff restrictions."

"That's when it started being obvious that the Kou Family always seems to be gaining something with each murder…"

Hakuryuu hums as he listens to the inputs from the other officers, keeping his eyes focused on the information flashed on the screen. There are some more lists basically about the Kou Family seemingly killing all of their enemies in cold blood.

"Judar's rise to stardom mirrors the timeline of the first murder and each subsequent murder that seems to boost the Kou Family's wealth and influence also influences Judar's as well." Aladdin has an innocent baby-face, but there's a strange sort of wisdom in him as he peers at the evidence they have gathered. His expression says that there's something that feels _off_ , but he's not quite sure yet as to what it is. "Plus, we're getting these tips about Judar being spotted with Kouen and Kouha often… which seems to indicate that they're at least friends, but…"

It's kind of a laughable investigation if that's the extent of their reasoning behind a prime suspect.

It's not laughable at all, because they're kind of desperate at this point.

"…Hm. The tip here says that Iron Wall Koutoku is not the real owner of the Kou Family business?"

Hakuryuu swings his gaze back to Alibaba, who reads the tip out loud with hesitation obvious in his voice. He spares a glance to Morgiana by his side, who looks conflicted as she sorts through the data. Hakuryuu makes a note to himself to help them prepare these data before meetings next time so that they don't appear caught off-guard by the very same information they're supposed to be presenting to the group.

"Indeed, there have been some rumors about that," Jafar confirms, his presence enough to quiet down most of the discussions that erupted with that news. "However, we have not been able to find any records about the previous family that the rumors are hinting at. So let's focus on the hard _facts_ —"

Hakuryuu hums again as he listens to the next part of their discussion.

Surely, the Kou Family must be hiding something big to resort to killing twenty-one well-known criminals just to further their own agenda.

Surely, knowledge of that hidden _thing_ is enough to shake this world.

Surely, that kind of connection to the underworld is _bad_.

Surely…

•••

> Wrapped in the pinnacle of comfort, it rested without any other disturbance in the middle of the airport runway. Arms were positioned over its pancreas, bones of its fingers clasped together as though in prayer. Legs were straightened out, almost as though it was already prepared for its coffin. Face that was known amongst the immigration departments of most countries remained the only thing recognizable in its body.
> 
> Alonso Cortez halted all operations in the international airport, rested on the cold hard ground while covered with a makeshift blanket made of its own skin, its congealed blood spilled and blended along the runway, some of its entrails spilled in the area surrounding its final resting place.
> 
> It was a trader who reputedly ambushed a carrier plane that had special packages of exquisite rugs made from fur of some exotic animals, a carrier plane owned by the Kou Family.
> 
> It was the 22nd reported victim.

•••

Hakuryuu's not sure if this is some kind of fate.

It just seems too coincidental, too _much_ , too _something_.

Seeing a white van trying to look as inconspicuous as possible is suspicious in its own right, so Hakuryuu has decided to take a very long detour from the task force's headquarters, walking along criss-crosses of dirty alleyways and hidden paths, before he finally reaches his apartment complex. However, it seems that the weather has decided to taunt him for picking this day of all days to take the long way back, without accounting for the sudden burst of rain that his flimsy folding umbrella is unable to handle.

By the time Hakuryuu reaches the stairs of his apartment complex, he's already soaked from head to toe, his feet making squishing sounds as he makes another step. He shivers at the coldness of the downpour, weighing down his clothes and making them cling to his skin uncomfortably. His head feels heavy too, his hair unraveled from his usual pin, thick clumps of his hair sticking to his cheeks and to his neck. There's some loud crackling as thunder rumbles seconds after.

Hakuryuu tries to dash up the steps, because he's heard that this apartment complex's security is strange that it locks the stairwells during a power outage. And with the way things are going—

"—hey, what's the big deal?! Why is this stupid door not opening urghhhh."

 _Urgh_ indeed.

Hakuryuu gazes up despairingly at the guy that he finds kicking the door and stomping his feet at the stairs landing. Hakuryuu wonders if he has somehow doomed himself to spend a power outage in some stairwell, while enduring very wet clothes and the presence of the main suspect of a long series of brutal murders.

"What the hell, this is making me so maaaad!" Judar whines some more, screeching about not believing that this kind of thoughtless security exists. "I ought to—oh hey, _Hakuryuu_!"

Hakuryuu sighs as he trudges up the remaining steps, sighs even deeper when Judar immediately sidles closer to him. "So I'm stuck with you, huh."

"Don't sound so down! I'm sure we can entertain ourselves!" Judar pokes his cheek and looks somewhat surprised to find it wet. He then blinks at him, his red eyes practically glowing like a cat's in dim lighting. There's a glass window at the very top of the stairwell – the frequent streaks of lightning are enough to provide some kind of light source. "Oh, you're very wet, Hakuryuu!"

Hakuryuu somewhat hopes that his communicator has been thoroughly ruined by the rain, because he suspects that it's going to be kind of mortifying to have this scene replayed to him back at the task force's headquarters.

"Yes, because the rain is wet," Hakuryuu grouches, knowing that Alibaba and Aladdin will chew him out for being so carelessly rude to their suspect. That's fine, because Hakuryuu's confident that he can beat this guy if it comes down to a one-on-one hand-to-hand combat. Maybe. Surely.

"It _is_ ," Judar agrees almost mindlessly, bumping shoulders too casually against Hakuryuu. "You should dry yourself, you know?"

A long flash of lightning – and Hakuryuu sees Judar's outfit more clearly. A loose white scarf draped over his shoulders and his cropped tee that covers _nothing_. His entire midriff is bared, while he has some loose pants that appear to be in grave danger of falling off his hips. He looks sufficiently dry and _interested_.

Hakuryuu swallows, taking a step back. He's dimly aware that the person in front of him is physically able to just shove him down the stairs and nobody will be able to know anything until the power returns. There's a thrill there, in the possibility of danger. At the same time, he knows that there's no way Judar will do that to him, not when he's gazing at him with overflowing interest in his eyes, visible despite the insufficient lighting.

He then nods, starting to unbutton his shirt, rustling his communicator. He peels it off after a few moments of wrestling with the fabric clinging to his skin, too aware to the fact that Judar's eyes are shamelessly roving across his exposed skin. Hakuryuu doesn't feel embarrassed upon revealing nearly half of his torso covered in burn scars.

Maintaining eye contact with him, Judar slowly unravels his scarf and uses it as a makeshift towel, stepping close to Hakuryuu and basically drying his dripping locks and wiping at his arms. Hakuryuu shivers – from the cold or from something else, he doesn't dwell too much upon it – and wordlessly doesn't stop Judar's hands from scrubbing his scarf across his chest.

He should be the university student who stubbornly refuses to acknowledge Judar, but there's something about the darkness that surrounds them now that makes Hakuryuu want to just _give in_ , even for just a little while. There's no doubt that Judar's rise to stardom is well-deserved due to his ethereal beauty, not to mention that his sculpted body is worthy of utmost praise. It's all compliments swishing inside Hakuryuu's head as he numbly lets his body be maneuvered so that he is standing against the wall instead, Judar carefully wiping him dry.

No doubt that the taskforce members monitoring the live feed from his communicator will conclude a great many things, most of which centering about how this is surely some screwed-up Stockholm's Syndrome at work.

…they're free to think what they wished, he supposes.

Judar's hands stutter for a moment, tips of his fingernails bluntly raking over his chest, his scarf forgotten by their feet. Hakuryuu shifts, his boots making that squeaking sound that grates on his ears. Judar then moves his hands to cup Hakuryuu's cheeks gently, eyes wide as though he's savoring the feeling of skin underneath his touch.

"It's not wet anymore," Judar breathes out his words against the tip of Hakuryuu's nose as he moves closer still, probably stepping over his own scarf. Despite the cold wall against his back, Hakuryuu feels the warmth radiating from Judar's body even more.

"It isn't," Hakuryuu agrees softly, his hands by his sides, waiting to see what Judar would do next in this situation.

He doesn't have to wonder for long, as Judar's own hands snake downwards, settling on top of his, before tracing the line of his hips and tugging at his pants.

Judar repeats his words from earlier, husky voice practically ringing inside Hakuryuu's ears despite the pounding of heavy raindrops and the cackling of lightning overhead. "You should dry yourself, you know?"

"…I know."

With smooth maneuvering that wouldn't look out of place in those who've had coordination training together, Judar divests Hakuryuu of his remaining clothing, just as Hakuryuu kicks off his wet boots, the cool air coupled with his companion's warmth making them both feel feverish.

"…My pants are wet too," Judar admits with almost childish honesty, even if Hakuryuu only feels a prickle of dread at the other's words.

The possibility that he's referring to his pants being drenched with the blood of his most recent victim rings too true inside Hakuryuu's mind.

Almost against his own volition, Hakuryuu's hands settle on Judar's hips, his touch exciting the other to the point that Judar practically shoves their groins together, Hakuryuu feeling the warm outline of the other's hardness without problems even through the layer of clothes separating them.

"Hey, Hakuryuu," Judar whispers to his lips, kissing him so casually and naturally, with their closeness not out of place in lovers who've sworn their life to each other, "I've been waiting to do this for so long, you know?"

He's still undercover now. He's supposed to be the prudish university student who doesn't have a whit of interest in celebrities no matter how beautiful they looked and no matter how endearing they appeared when they whispered such devotion-filled words.

…Plus, Judar's definition of 'so long' might not match what normal people thought considered as a valid length of time to feel distressed about.

Hakuryuu knows that there's a huge chance that the communicator he had discarded along with his wet clothes are still picking up his words and delivering them to the ears of his task force teammates.

Hakuryuu _knows_.

Hakuryuu knows, but he can't quite stop himself from angling away from the cold wall and rubbing his entire body against Judar's.

"…Heh. Why don't you _show_ me what you've waited to do?"

•••

"I've been taken in by our suspect."

Hakuryuu spies the flush high on Alibaba's cheeks, the angry disappointment and overwhelming worry mixing like incompatible paints on his face. He knows that Alibaba has _issues_ about how casually he admits that and how careless he's been acting. He knows and he doesn't really care too much, because there are still lots of things that Alibaba don't know about how to administer justice.

"But I will use this for the investigation," Hakuryuu repeats the words he coldly stated to Sinbad over a video conference call just a few minutes prior. "It will help lower his guard down so we can get more conclusive evidence."

"Hakuryuu… I believe you." Alibaba looks uncomfortable still.

Hakuryuu has an idea why.

"I… We'll support you the best we can." Alibaba almost looks as though he's just a few seconds away from applying to be the undercover agent instead of him, or maybe even demanding Hakuryuu remove himself from the investigation due to conflict of interests. Those wishes are _futile_. "So… you can always talk to us, okay?"

Hakuryuu's mindset as an undercover cop is to make sure he lives the life of his cover even when the target isn't around, so he's still partly a polite university student now. He smiles, bowing down to Alibaba slightly. "Thank you, Alibaba."

He then starts to move away, because he still needs to go through another debrief. Alibaba stops him though, a hand on his forearm. Hakuryuu stares at the hand, uncertain of whether to voice out his concerns about the touch. Alibaba's aura is too comfortable, too cozy, too calming that it only makes his blood boil. Alibaba seems to immediately sense his distaste for being touched by _others_ , recoiling so hard as though he's electrocuted.

"…Hey. You… Um. That is, ah, Hakuryuu, did you…" Alibaba scratches at his flushed cheeks, embarrassment now taking over his entire countenance.

Hakuryuu has an idea of what he wants to ask.

Come to think of it, it was Alibaba's turn at the surveillance room yesterday.

So he definitely knows about _that_.

"Did you…"

Hakuryuu starts to walk away in slow steps, Alibaba following him as he attempts to finish his question.

They pass by a break room where some of the older officers they rarely interact with are watching the television program, Hakuryuu's eyes catching the day's headlines about Ren Kouen finally breaking his silence about his romantic pursuits and admitting that he's about to marry his long-time secret girlfriend. The news doesn't have a face for the mysterious girlfriend of one of the world's most influential leaders, for they only have the name 'Hakuei' and not much else.

"Um… did you…"

Hakuryuu finally reaches the corridor leading to his desk, but Alibaba still has not gathered his courage to actually ask him the question that's most likely been bothering him since he heard those things in the feed from the communicator.

"…We just kissed," Hakuryuu says finally, a little amused at how easily relief floods Alibaba's features. "Don't worry about me so much, Alibaba. I'll see you guys later."

Hakuryuu bites his lip as he makes a small wave before turning to go to his desk.

They had penetrative sex twice and ended up performing intercural sex on their way to round three. They probably would have done more if not for the power finally returning and releasing them from the odd confines of the darkened stairwell.

It's almost comedic how Alibaba thinks that all that noise came from simply kissing, but then again, it's not a secret that the other is a virgin with very little knowledge of such _intimate acts_.

Sooner or later, Alibaba will realize that kissing is not just that they did, but Hakuryuu would rather not deal with that now.

Lying is bad, but Hakuryuu doesn't mind lying if it's for a greater purpose.

•••

> Chained to the ceiling fan of its five-star hotel room, much like the way it chained the slaves it acquired as part of its discipline. Arms outstretched so that its fingertips touched the blackened carpet. Legs stretched and connected to the center of the ceiling fan. Eyes rolled back as its face bloated from the reversed flow of blood pressure.
> 
> Slave Trader Fatima caused the hotel's housekeeping staff to retch and faint as its weight spun lightly, wobbled in a lazy arc as its fingertips dragged its blue-black edges across the congealed blood on its carpet, drew a lopsided circle decorated with some of the feathers stripped from its gaudy outfit.
> 
> It had claimed in national television that the Kou Family bought slaves from him in order to support their low-cost philosophy when it came to manpower.
> 
> It was the 23rd reported victim.

•••

"Hakuryuu!"

Hakuryuu turns around slightly at the sound of his name being called so brightly. He's greeted by the sight of Judar waving at him enthusiastically, practically bouncing on his heels as he sprints towards him. The devout cheerfulness upon his face is almost alien, after having watched him stoically and haughtily answer questions for his press conference earlier, just one hotel building away from where Fatima's corpse was discovered.

"…Judar," he returns the greeting with less cheer, but the other doesn't seem to mind.

The scum surrounding him, crowding him against the darkened alley leading to the apartment complex, do seem to mind though. They holler some unintelligible noise that surely couldn't be considered human words, spit practically flying out of their maws.

Hakuryuu's not quite sure if it's his fate to be surrounded by filth. Maybe his scars actually attract all these scum, but his first encounter with them happened when he didn't even have any burn marks in his body yet, so that kind of logic is flawed.

"Hey, are these _guys_ harassing _you_ , Hakuryuu?"

Hakuryuu thinks that harassment isn't exactly the best word to describe its tiny congregation that somehow think they can mob him and get away with it. Judar's treatment of him, wearing down his defenses steadily, surely, can also be considered harassment, if he thinks about it too much.

"You can go ahead," he tells the other with a shrug, mystified with the thought that there are still some creatures who didn't know about Judar's face which is practically plastered everywhere now, given how the scum didn't even look at the other's appearance with anything other than irritation at his unwanted disruption. "I can handle this."

The scum surrounding him sputtered some more, words slurred and expressions curdled with their mindless anger. They don't look pleased with being ignored in favor of Judar, but Hakuryuu doesn't plan on paying further attention to them than what is strictly needed.

"I can ignore a lot of things, but wanting to bully Hakuryuu is just a no-no, you know?" Judar plows on, as though Hakuryuu has not already refused his help. Plus, it's disconcerting to hear Judar be so publicly protective, though that's probably more because he rarely finds Judar speaking so freely to someone else aside from him, as is expected. "Hey, so how about I let you guys go _for now_ and then you never disturb Hakuryuu again _ever_? That good?"

Hakuryuu ignores the responses from the group of scum, as he side-steps Judar and readies himself to attack once the group throws the first punch. His communicator is switched on, continuing to broadcast the sounds around him to the headquarters. Then again, he doubts that any of them will attempt to rescue him – there's no way they will risk exposing Hakuryuu's cover at this point in the investigation. They're also probably hoping that Judar will unleash his _tendencies_ and help garner them a clue towards his method for killing.

Judar bumps shoulders with him, probably guessing that he wishes to confront this group on his own. Hakuryuu nudges Judar's shoulders back and it's just a back-and-forth between them of who gets to have a more prepared stance, paying attention to each other more than strictly necessary. It doesn't help them out, because it takes their attention away from the filthy creatures that apparently had enough of being rightfully ignored.

One of it takes out a pocketknife, the blade gleaming under the sparse streetlights. Hakuryuu quickly makes it unhand the knife, but there's apparently more than one such blade, something Hakuryuu belatedly notices, not until said second blade pierces skin.

Hakuryuu grimaces inwardly, disposing of a fair share of the scum who probably thought that he was easy prey, just because his prosthetic arm is pretty obvious tonight with his uncharacteristic short-sleeved polo shirt.

The fight, if something so depressingly one-sided can even be called as such, ends without much fuss within five minutes. There's a scratch on Judar's bared midriff and Hakuryuu idly thinks that it's such a shame that it landed on the other's abs. But this can be interesting in its own right. He refuses to feel any guilt, not because Judar is a suspect in his investigation, but mostly because he already advised the other to leave.

It's not his fault that Judar obtained an injury.

Still…

"…I'm going to patch you up," Hakuryuu says, as he moves and keeps his eyes focused on the fallen pocketknives, instead of Judar's abs, or worse, his face.

"Ah, I'm so touched, Hakuryuu!" Judar exclaims, cheerfulness back in his tone as though he didn't completely beat up five or so pieces of scum. "Are you gonna nurse me back to health?"

"I'm just going to bandage you," Hakuryuu corrects the gross misconception, squaring his shoulders as he stomps towards their apartment complex. "And then I will tape your mouth shut."

Judar laughs at the threat, sounding thrilled at the idea. "You really are so cheeky!"

"And you're being noisy."

"Hey, why don't we go on a vacation? I'm kind of _tired_ of this city already! I know, let's go sight-seeing! I can easily buy tickets now for us two, you know?"

"Shut up, Judar."

"Why don't you believe m _eeee_ e, I'm being serious, Hakuryuu!"

"I'm being serious too, when I tell you to shut up." Hakuryuu rummages inside his bag for his portable first-aid kit (he has to bypass quite a number of small gadgets, particularly his portable encryptor) that he brings with him at all times, and it's only because of that rummaging that he ends up walking slow enough so Judar can match his pace, their arms brushing as they walked up the stairs together.

Hakuryuu doesn't blush when he remembers that they just very recently had sex in the same stairwell they're currently at.

For a brief moment, Hakuryuu thinks that he's going to get a lot of disappointed scolding that he doesn't really care for, for what he's about to do. He pushes that thought out of his head, because he really doesn't care about that.

"If you promise to behave, I'll bandage you inside my room."

Hakuryuu doesn't even hide his small smile and doesn't even waste time listening for Judar's excited response.

•••

"…You want me to be taken out of the investigation."

Technically, Alibaba is ranked higher than him, so his word will have bigger weight against his. Hakuryuu frowns as he considers this situation. It would be a lie to say that he didn't expect something like this to happen, though there's something laughable about how possessive Alibaba is acting.

With how Alibaba is acting and with what Alibaba is saying, he seems to think that Hakuryuu is _currently_ falling in love with Judar.

It's… a funny concept.

"It's not because you're not good. Or that you're incompetent!" Alibaba waves his hands around, probably in an effort to appear less threatening. "It's just… _we_ worry about you. You're being taken in by such a sleazy guy… it's probably how he's able to accomplish those brutal kills of his, yet none of the victims look terrified and they all look peaceful…"

Hakuryuu makes a mental note to not swing by the cafeteria or the break room, because he'd rather avoid other investigators chiming in with their unwarranted opinions about his relationship with Judar and how he's running his investigation. He's rather tired from the hours he spent in the laboratories, calibrating some of the machines and helping Yamraiha mix enzymes for some of the chemical tests she's about to do. He's been hoping he can grab a bite in this office first before he leaves for the day, since he still needs to go to the central business district for an appointment, but apparently that's not going to happen.

"Alibaba."

"And we're really worried—"

"Alibaba," he repeats, rummaging inside his bag until he finds the tagged and sealed stained bandage. He throws it towards Alibaba's face with more force than strictly necessary, but Alibaba proves that despite his naivety, he's still competent when it comes to reaction times. Alibaba catches it with one hand, baffled at the bloody bandage in his hands.

When Alibaba's expression only becomes more confused as seconds tick by, Hakuryuu takes pity on him. Plus, he really needs to get going so he can reach his appointment in time. "That has a blood sample from Judar. Please take it to the laboratory for a DNA test."

"Hakuryuu! You—"

Hakuryuu waves off Alibaba's other words, probably gushing about how he's able to obtain such a precious sample when all previous attempts from them failed.

Then again, given how the target serial killer has eluded the police's grasp for a long time now, Hakuryuu seriously doubts that they'll be able to solve anything with whatever will be the result of the DNA Test.

•••

> Filled with custom silver coins that it was proud of showing off as its trademark in its deals. Arms were shoved to its gaping mouth, as though in an effort to stop the silver coins from overflowing. Legs were split apart in order to make room for more coins in-between. Eyes were pried open with silver coins on its eyeballs.
> 
> Jamil opened the Stock Exchange right in the middle of the central business district, beckoned greedy businessmen close with the shine of genuine silver, its spilled blackened blood not enough to taint all of the coins.
> 
> It was a well-known illegal drug dealer for chemicals used in what supposedly was the Kou Family's venture to pharmaceuticals, but was more known for the inklings of human experimentation.
> 
> It was the 24th reported victim.

•••

"I'm b _oooooored_ , Hakuryuu!"

Judar whines right into Hakuryuu's right shoulder, his words vibrating against Hakuryuu's bared skin. It makes Hakuryuu shiver even more than the ice-cold temperature of the room, courtesy of Judar playing around with the remote control for the air conditioner, to the point that it now refuses to respond to any commands to raise the temperature. That's the only reason Hakuryuu allows Judar to shamelessly cuddle against him, wrapping the two of them underneath tons of blankets and comforters hauled from Judar's next-door apartment.

"We're supposed to be sleeping," Hakuryuu hisses to his bedmate in an effort to quiet him down, lightly thumping his hand on the other's head, eliciting another whine. "You're not supposed to be excited or entertained."

"I'm _bored_ with this place, Hakuryuu."

"Then get the hell out of my room."

"Not that," Judar says with a laugh, his warm puffs of breath tickling Hakuryuu slightly. "I'd never get bored with _you_ , you know?"

"…I know." Hakuryuu eventually acknowledges, curling his fingers into Judar's hair, digging into the other's scalp in a move that he knows the other likes. He's rewarded with a purr that wouldn't sound out of place from a cat.

"I _know_ ," Judar says in response to his words, voice husky with an endless want.

It never stops surprising Hakuryuu how Judar can never seem to stop wanting him. It makes Hakuryuu feel the tiniest bit _guilty_ , for many reasons.

Hakuryuu settles for running his hands across Judar's hair, petting him, letting his fingers slide down to Judar's nape and rubbing at the skin there. The motion makes Judar wiggle on top of him in contentment, something Hakuryuu doesn't mind so much despite the added weight on top of him. It's almost comforting to be blanketed by a warm body, even if it belongs to someone like Judar.

…Especially if it belongs to someone like Judar.

Judar then stretches, reaching out to something in the bedside table. The police-issued laptop has its lid closed, though it's not shut down, one of the light buttons blinking orange for its 'sleep mode'. Judar's hands bypass that and instead go for something that looks like a ticket.

Hakuryuu holds his breath at the sight of that rectangular piece of paper, words known to his mind even without him outright perusing the stationery.

Judar sits on top of his thighs, smirking at him. He waves the ticket-like stationery with his right hand, his left hand rubbing lewdly at Hakuryuu's bared stomach.

The ticket is too far from Hakuryuu's tired eyes to read properly, but it looks like it's either a plane ticket or an entrance ticket to the bidding hall of the Stock Exchange.

"Hey, Hakuryuu," Judar says without any trace of sleepiness whatsoever, his eyes shining a bright red, even against the dimmed lighting of this apartment. "…Join me?"

Hakuryuu swallows, already thinking about how this is going to be a handful to explain to the higher-ups at Sindria Task Force.

Alibaba's naivety aside, there's no way that anybody will just let this go, since this is Judar _sounding_ like he wants Hakuryuu to _join_ him in his killing spree.

This is also Judar _sounding_ like he definitely knows that Hakuryuu's here as an undercover.

This is Judar _sounding_ like he knows that Hakuryuu has a mission to accomplish.

All of those _sound_ near the actual truth.

But then again, the DNA Test should have its results ready soon, which should clear any further doubts.

Not only that, but Yamraiha's other tests on the little bits of evidence they could find from the murder scenes should be reaching their end too, which should provide a better picture for the investigation.

Hakuryuu sighs, before he nudges Judar's right hip with his bent left knee.

"…Let's just sleep," he breathes out with a resigned, long-suffering tone.

Judar seems to count that as a victory, for he actually _squeals_ with unrestrained fervor, only sparing a brief moment to return the ticket to the bedside table, before diving back to Hakuryuu, their entire bodies colliding with the motion.

Judar then aligns his head so that he's speaking right against Hakuryuu's right ear: "Good night, Hakuryuu."

Hakuryuu sighs again, but he does lock his arms around Judar's back.

That response is more than enough.

•••

"This isn't like you, Hakuryuu!"

Hakuryuu freezes, before his mind registers the voice as Alibaba's. He briefly wonders where Aladdin and Morgiana are, but those two are the type who'll pin their hopes on Alibaba and hope that he does whatever's necessary.

It's a strange way of thinking, but Hakuryuu's only too grateful that he doesn't have to deal with more people. Aladdin possesses a childish face and an intuitive wisdom that's fit for philosophers – it will be hard to hide anything from him at this point. He might not know what exactly is he missing, but he'll have an _inkling_ that something's really _wrong_. Morgiana… is someone that reminds him too much of things he could have had if life had turned out differently for him.

He doesn't like it.

He doesn't like the thought that his life has just followed one rigid design.

He doesn't like the thought of anything changing at this point, because he's finally reached some sort of peace.

He's not sure which one he dislikes more.

In any case, he also dislikes the way Alibaba is running after him and forcing him to a confrontation.

"That Judar guy _obviously_ knows you're a cop!"

If police officers take this long to realize that their suspect _knows_ about the undercover operation, then this country is really doomed.

"…I see. You sure took your time to realize that, huh?"

Alibaba's hand releases his arm abruptly, as though Hakuryuu's words electrocuted him quite thoroughly. There's a flush high on Alibaba's cheeks, unshed tears in his eyes, and Hakuryuu dearly hopes that he won't have to deal with a crying, overemotional Alibaba. Oh, how ironic it is that he's the one dreading to deal with a crybaby.

"That Judar guy has changed you!" Alibaba cries out in the end, his accusation ringing across the thankfully-empty hallway. "You're not like this at all! If you pull out of this mission, I'm sure you'll return to _normal_ , to how you were before, so—"

"…Inspector Saluja." Hakuryuu's fists tremble with rage at those words, so he places his arms rigidly by his sides. He cannot start a commotion here. He simply cannot. "How I lived before is none of your business. I _refuse_ to return to how I was before."

"…?! Eh? But—"

Hakuryuu knows that Alibaba isn't referring to the _time_ when he was still younger, when he was still unscarred by burns, when he was still—no. Hakuryuu _knows_ but he can't help but retort hotly to this person's words.

"You don't know anything about me."

"But I do! _We_ do!" Alibaba protests, running up to Hakuryuu when he moves away.

"I know you joined Sindria because you want to make a difference!"

 Wrong. 

"I know you like the hot chocolate from our vending machine!"

 Wrong. 

"I know you think you like Judar because he's very touchy-feely, but he's just—"

 _W_ _rong_.

Everything that's coming out of Alibaba's mouth is all _wrong_. Hakuryuu's fists' trembling has subsided a little bit, because it's hard to stay angry at a guy this _clueless_. He's useless, that's for certain, but there's no use sparing him some hatred for his ignorance.

Alibaba is just like _everyone_ , content to spend their own lives in their approximation of peace while others suffer, content to stay in their own bubble of happiness even if it's kept in the expense of other people's lives. Alibaba doesn't even _understand_ him, does he?

…But then again, it's not like he's _here_ to find someone to understand him.

He's here to be a university student who resists the allure of the charismatic supermodel who happens to be the _only_ suspect of the wild goose chase of an investigation.

Hakuryuu's eye catches movement from the other end of the hallway. A humorless smile almost curls on his lips, but he reigns that in.

"…Inspector Saluja, please be quiet."

"—?!"

Alibaba's about to say something more, but he's interrupted by Yamraiha and Alibaba sprinting from the other end of the hallway, matching slightly-skewed glasses perched on top of their noses, thick papers and files securely held in their arms.

"Alibaba! Hakuryuu! Come help us carry these!" Yamraiha cries out, her entire body heaving, not waiting for an affirmative response before she dumps half of the papers to their hands. "Let's go to the board room—there's an emergency meeting to discuss our findings!"

Yamraiha whirls away immediately after saying those words, hurrying towards the meeting room. Aladdin lags behind, tugging at Alibaba's elbow, while Alibaba lets himself be dragged away, while Hakuryuu follows at a more leisurely pace.

Hakuryuu feels the distance that Aladdin places between them and _that's fine_. It could be a mix of his feelings regarding Hakuryuu openly bedding their suspect, along with his troublesome intuition.

…That's _fine_.

When Hakuryuu finally reaches the meeting room, he has to squeeze into the tiny space near the back of the room, barely avoiding having to bump shoulders with officers that he's never interacted with, as there's practically the entire office crammed into a single room, along with some loaned officers from other task forces. It's really amazing how media pressure can make things a lot messier – there are now other task forces involved that don't really have the same protocols as Sindria and the workforce chaos is making things proceed at a much slower pace.

It's only a matter of time until paparazzi starts hounding and stalking their officers for more updates, especially since more and more people are starting to wonder about the reality of the Kou Family's not-so-pristine image.

…And that's more than fine.

Hakuryuu doesn't really listen to Yamraiha and Aladdin sharing their findings from the DNA Test and the other battery of tests they did on the flimsy evidence that they managed to scrape off from the victims' bodies.

He already knows that the DNA Test does not show a match between Judar and the leftover DNA at the crime scenes. Said leftover DNA apparently doesn't match anything they have on their records, even with help of Yunan's Team who does have extensive networks around the world. If the DNA sample is not in Yunan's database, it's almost akin to admitting that the sample belongs to a _ghost_.

…That or the owner of the DNA Sample has been erased from any sort of record.

…Or the owner of the DNA Sample has a DNA that is already considered as not _human_.

But that's not all this meeting is about.

Hakuryuu sighs as the chattering and the gasping grows steadily louder and more panicked, as Yamraiha and Aladdin reveal that they've finished half of the analyses on the black blood – one of the main causes of headaches of the autopsy experts in the past couple of months.

Based on the new timeline offered by their chemical tests, the assumption they had worked on for the times of death had to be adjusted to be set back by four days.

Sharrkan is presenting the new timeline, adding to the noise level of the meeting's attendees.

Hakuryuu doesn't listen or even attempt to read the scribbled projections of the new timeline. He focuses his eyes on the grim expression on their officer-in-charge's face.

Jafar looks like he swallowed bile as he hammers the conclusion brought by the new timeframe that they're going to base their investigation on.

"…It looks like Judar does have solid alibis for the projected times of death for all the 24 reported victims."

There's a brief moment of silence as most of the officers in the room privately and not-so-privately mourn the lost time that was devoted to extensively investigating what appears to be a dead-end. From Hakuryuu's vantage point, it seems that only Alibaba has a favorable reaction – though that's most likely because he's overjoyed that Hakuryuu's undercover investigation will be placed on a permanent stop.

Pisti then brings up the possibility that it's someone else from the Kou Family who's doing the killings to improve the family's wealth and influence, which sparks another series of intense discussions.

Morgiana and Alibaba don't present anything from their anonymous tipper about the Kou Family's dealings.

…And that's more than fine.

Hakuryuu doubts that any further tips are needed to cement the fact that the Kou Family is involved in very strange and investigation-worthy dealings.

•••

> Carved in a way that earned it a more permanent nasty smile than what it used to favor when it had dealt with prominent political leaders. Arms cleaved and rearranged with added spaces between its joints to give an appearance of a deformed marionette. Legs sawed off and reconnected to further cement the puppet imagery. Face knifed and sculpted to have cheek-to-cheek smile that showed off its rotten cheek muscles, while its forehead was decorated with criss-crossed knife marks that drew a crown of thorns, the carving done intricately and only interrupted by three bullet holes in the middle of its forehead.
> 
> Markkio, alias Banker, welcomed the head of Sindria's Task Force's return from his overseas trip, decorated the helipad atop the Task Force's headquarters with its deformed body and smiling face. Black blood was spread out over the supposed landing area of Sinbad's personal helicopter, drawn to the design of an eight-pointed star.
> 
> It was an avid supporter of the Kou Family and it had gamely financed the Kou Family's pharmaceutical goals that were heavily gossiped to be related to human experimentation and manufacture of child soldiers.
> 
> It was the 25th reported victim.

•••

"…Hey, Hakuryuu. So does this mean that you've thought about my offer to go on a vacation?"

Hakuryuu looks up from his systematic packing of the few things he had in the apartment he was commissioned to use for his stint as an undercover investigator. Judar is leaning against the apartment door, arms crossed over his chest, a grin on his lips.

"I'm very serious, you know? We can go to Sasan! I heard that there's l _ooooo_ ts of mountains there, so you'd feel right at home. And there are lots of shiny metals there too! Maybe we can buy some stuff there. What do you think?"

Hakuryuu chuckles slightly, as he finishes packing up. Technically, he hasn't been decommissioned yet, but he's not going to wait for official orders. Not when the new timeframe is about to give the others a clue. Not when the eight-pointed star is about to give Sinbad the hint as to what they're really dealing with. Not when this apartment is not safe for Hakuryuu anymore.

"I didn't even have to think about it," Hakuryuu responds to Judar's initial question. He rolls his eyes at Judar's expected reaction at his words, side-stepping the other when he moves to enclose him in a bear hug. "Plus, are you sure you should be suggesting Sasan? It can only be reached _by foot_. Or are you telling me you don't mind camping and travelling like that?"

"Aaaaah, I take it back!" Judar scrunches his face at the thought of camping and sleeping on tents and getting stung by insects. "…Unless you'll carry me, Hakuryuu?"

"The only time I'll be carrying you is when I'm finally getting rid of you," Hakuryuu retorts without any real heat in his tone. After all, it's not like Judar doesn't know what he's talking about. Judar is smirking at his words, probably thinking about what he really means.

"Hah, you're really so cheeky!" Judar exclaims like he's very endeared by that quality of Hakuryuu's. "Oh, and by the way? I usually hate _creepy stalkers_ but I don't mind it if it's you, Hakuryuu!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Judar?"

"Aw, man, no need to deny it! …Ah, where is it—oh, _here_ , catch!"

Instinctively, Hakuryuu reaches out with his hand, barely having to adjust his hand placement as a tiny object lands in his palm. He's not shocked or surprised to see the tiny object that he has placed upon Judar's person during that encounter quite some time ago. He's more bewildered by the pristine state of the tracker, since he honestly hasn't expected Judar to _take good care_ of such a small, easily-breakable object. But then again, Hakuryuu can easily guess that Judar probably thought that he'd need to take care of Hakuryuu's _gift_.

It should be embarrassing, but after dealing with Judar for so long, Hakuryuu has already gotten over the stage where he blushes easily over every single quirk.

"…I'm not stalking you." Hakuryuu frowns as Judar moves closer and drapes his arm over his shoulders, bringing their bodies together. Hakuryuu does shift a little so that they're more comfortable embracing each other, right in the middle of a bare Sindria Task Force-owned apartment. "I never have."

"You never have," Judar agrees, as he sets his chin on top of Hakuryuu's head. Hakuryuu slouches a little bit, his nose against Judar's collarbone so he can smell the heady scent of something that's always followed him— _them_. "Come to think of it, that's kind of more like my part, huh? Though now I kind of want to use this tracker on you, Hakuryuu!"

Hakuryuu sometimes think that Judar needs to be smarter when it comes to things like this. Judar _is_ smart, just not about things that require a decent amount of common sense. "What the hell is the point of doing that?"

"…Oh yeah! There will be no need for this tracker, huh." Judar hums an off-key tune, swaying the two of them slightly in a lazy waltz. Hakuryuu just lets his body be carried into the motion, his limbs moving on auto-pilot to match Judar's sleepy, almost-peaceful movements. "Hey, wanna have tea in my apartment?"

"…Don't you have some place to be?" Hakuryuu asks pointedly, lightly pinching the skin on Judar's left hip.

"It's not like you have any room to speak like that, though? Don't you also have some place to be?"

"Unlike you, my appointment is with someone who'll literally gladly wait _days_ for me to show up." Hakuryuu's presses his smirking lips right against Judar's neck, kissing the skin there with each syllable that escapes him.

"Hey, what do you mean by that, Hakuryuu?! I'll gladly wait _years_ for you, you know! I can be patient too!" The arms around Hakuryuu squeeze tighter when he merely chuckles in response. "Hey, answer meeeee, Hakuryuu!"

"Ah, you're noisy."

"That's _unfair_!"

"And _you_ 're going to be late for your _appointment_."

"Hmph, I'll show you I can be patient too, okay! Just you wait and see!"

Hakuryuu rarely initiates anything between them, but just this once, he stands on his tiptoes so he can kiss Judar's forehead, Judar's nose, then Judar's lips. Aside from that being enough to stun Judar into silence, this is Hakuryuu's way of sending him off to his important appointment. They both have places to be, things to do, people to meet – things that are going to be the highlights of their _career_.

"I'll see you later, Judar."

And Hakuryuu drops the tiny object that has been returned to him, a tracker that broadcasts Judar's physical location to the Sindria Task Force, to the floor of his emptied police-issued apartment.

"Ah, see you later, Hakuryuu!"

And Judar stomps on it, breaking it to numerous pieces.

•••

Alibaba is obviously antsy, waiting for his investigation partner to show up. He's clearly nervous about showing up in a restaurant located in the city's northern outskirts, but since there has been a tip about a private dinner for the Kou Family heir and his bride-to-be, Alibaba has been tasked to come and investigate. Well, it's not only Alibaba who's supposed to be here from Sindria.

Alibaba sits two tables away from the door, close enough to make a break for it should things go south, close enough to investigate every single person who comes through the entrance. His investigation partner for this mission is not going to show up, a realization that doesn't seem to make its way to Alibaba's brain yet.

It's due to happen soon, though.

Just as that thought comes, a trademark red-painted limousine pulls up the restaurant's driveway. Kouha steps out first, because despite being short and being one of the lesser heirs, he's always itching for a fight. He serves as the main bodyguard for the group whenever there are private dinners. Koumei alights next, doing what seems to be like rubbing at his own eyes. Kouen appears next, awkwardly reaching out a hand to assist his bride-to-be despite her not really the type to appreciate such shallow acts of chivalry. She takes Kouen's hand though with a smile.

Alibaba is seated near the entrance, so he immediately sees the Kou Family's heirs' arrival.

Alibaba has an unhindered view of Hakuei's face.

He easily sees the expression on Alibaba's face as realization finally hits him.

Alibaba's probably feeling something sick right now. His eyes are wide as he zooms in at Hakuei's face, just as his gut is probably churning from how familiar she looks. His eyes go wider as he probably realizes what kind of timeframe Sharrkan presented. His face go several shades paler when he probably realizes that the Black Magi's kills coincide with his investigation partner's arrival to the Task Force, along with his frequent insistence to travel alone.

Alibaba sits two tables away from the restaurant's entrance, with the chair across from him occupied by a duffel bag that his investigation partner has asked him to bring. The duffel bag supposedly holds some notes about advanced redox reactions with encrypted scribbles about the Kou Family written in-between. The duffel bag supposedly was left behind in the Task Force's laboratory.

Alibaba sits two tables away from the restaurant's entrance and he's seated right beside a glass window that makes it easy for him to spot any and all of the restaurant's patrons for the night, as well as makes him easy to spot even from five buildings away.

The investigation partner isn't going to come.

The duffel bag isn't just an ordinary bag.

With a press of a button, the entire restaurant explodes.

•••

> Literally boiling alive from the inside, though there's no chance that it will become something edible or palatable to eat. Arms are waving around wildly, knocking some of the expensive figures off their perch, clawing at the gold-framed portraits lining its study's walls. Legs are stomping all over the place, kicking and running as though the noise and commotion its making will be enough to grab the attention of anyone in the mansion. Face is already distorted to something sufficiently convoluted that will make it challenging for any investigator to discern this scum's real identity.
> 
> Koutoku, the _acting_ head of the Kou Family, writhes and groans as the chemical he has ingested starts to make his blood boil from the inside, making his skin look like some strange red bubble wrap. There's no need for the black blood in this scenario, because there's no more need to confuse the timeline that the investigators are working with.
> 
> It is a vulgar pig that shamelessly stole the company and the legacy that its brother poured his life into, so being boiled like the lump of useless meat that it is makes for a fitting end for a scum.
> 
> It is the 43rd victim of The Black Magi.

•••

"…Is that you, my beloved son?"

The Black Magi doesn't say anything, but he's smirking cockily at the woman in the middle of the room. His arms are by his sides, his eyes a little wide and deranged, his low-hip pants held up by a belt with several daggers and injectors attached. There's a gun in his right hand and a spear taken from the throne room in his left.

The woman's voice sounds the tiniest bit interested, though there's still that general apathy there, a kind of confidence that only comes to those who are so secure in their power that they don't think to prepare for all types of desperate scenarios.

"…Ah, you really grew! You seem more powerful too. Congratulations on successfully surviving that incident."

The Black Magi still doesn't say anything, but he moves closer to the woman, killing intent radiating off his stance.

"They call you a Black Magi now, hm. You weren't really supposed to be included in that incident, but you were so attached. My, that is so touching." There's a sound of slow clapping. "I'm so happy that our experiment yielded such a bloodthirsty serial killer."

The Black Magi is only a few steps away from the woman and her throne in the middle of the room. Even with the _throne_ in the middle of the room, the tall chair's back facing the tall glass windows, there are few shadows cast as tonight's a new moon. The woman has always preferred darkness.

And _that's fine_.

Despite the easygoing tone, it's obvious that the woman is also leaking killing intent of her own.

The Black Magi doesn't stop inching towards the so-called _throne_ until he's just five steps away, drawing the woman's attention to his spear and his gun. The woman doesn't seem bothered by his daggers or his other weapons. Instead, the woman seems more curious about the injectors that are half-filled with chemicals that are enough to elicit a number of changes in a body's chemistry.

Since the woman rarely spends time together with Koutoku despite being legally husband and wife, they're at the opposite wing of the mansion that contains the noisy death of that pig. Silence envelopes the mansion, as those who consider themselves heirs have been lured away from the mansion and are trapped some place far away with a well-placed untraceable bomb.

"…Judar…?"

The Black Magi finally ends his silence, as he suddenly laughs out loud, rough and crazy with anger and bloodlust.

"Hey, fucking old hag, _I_ 'm not the serial killer, you know?"

There are few shadows cast as tonight's a new moon.

A shadow falls.

He doesn't see the woman's face, but he sees his bloodthirsty grin and he knows it's the same for him too.

"Ha—"

The woman's head flies off from a well-timed slice from the back of her throne.

Ren Gyokuen is the 44th victim of The Black Magi.

•••


	2. intermission: justice is on our side

•••

 **intermission** _  
justice is on our side_ ;

•••

The news stations are fairly busy with a cacophony of explosions painting bright, colorful hues against the screens, juxtaposed with the exaggerated sympathy etched on the anchors' doll-like faces. Police influence can only threaten so much after all – while the public has been cocooned underneath a thickly-spun web of lies for the past couple of weeks, it only takes one well-crafted explosion that makes everyone suddenly hyper-aware and hyper-opinionated about the state of corruption in their world.

But then again, it's not like that's something that they're supposed to care too much about?

"Don't you think they're… _blowing this up_ way out of proportion, Hakuryuu?"

Hakuryuu pauses in his efforts of carefully hanging up Judar's clothes on the clothes rack to the left side of the bed. Judar's excitement - at finally having Hakuryuu to himself without any interruptions and without playing himself up for the filthy police eavesdropping on them – manifests in the form of him quickly disrobing, scattering his clothes all over the floor, before jumping excitedly to the bed. Hakuryuu's much more reserved about this development, because there's no telling when something can go wrong and when they'll need to evacuate this safehouse in a hurry. It's better to make sure they're prepared for all possibilities.

"They kept quiet for so long…" Hakuryuu stares almost longingly at the muted TV screen playing today's news in a silent charade, functioning as the makeshift lamp in this abandoned studio apartment on the opposite side of the city, the furthest distance from Koutoku's mansion that they can afford to be. "And now that they can't hide that organization's corruption, they're all jumping to the bandwagon."

"They're _scum_ , aren't they?" Judar asks with a breathy sigh, sounding as though he's particularly aroused by the thought of savages that they have passed judgment on. But then again, it's most likely because Hakuryuu has finally finished cleaning up after Judar and has moved on to unbuttoning his shirt, exposing bits of scarred flesh to Judar's eyes.

"They are," Hakuryuu agrees, whisper-soft voice roughened with the ever-present anger that drives his entire life. With quick motions, Hakuryuu easily divests himself of his clothes, folding them in practiced motions before placing them on top of the small table propped to the right side of the bed.

While he's not as vocal about the lengthened separation between the two of them, it's obvious to Judar that Hakuryuu missed being with him without any of the eavesdroppers and the plan hanging over his head. That's why Judar stretches out an inviting hand to Hakuryuu as soon as the other is fully naked – one of Judar's _rules_ is that any occupant of his bed must have zero clothing on them – the invitation swallowed up by force and _hunger_ as soon as their hands touch.

Hakuryuu is expecting it, because he hardly grunts in surprise at the forceful pull, causing him to crash into Judar, pinning the other man into the bed. Their faces meet in an open-mouthed kiss, teeth bared, more intent in biting, licking and downright _devouring_ each other rather than the simple affirmation of their connection.

While they've managed to sneak in a few moments of their so-called togetherness while under the guise of simply being predator and prey under Sindria's plans, there's still something to be said for reconnecting after the end of a successful mission.

"We killed that old bitch, Hakuryuu!" Judar's eyes are shining, rubies fueled by an unrestrained, unholy glee. "We _finally_ did it!"

"We did," Hakuryuu breathes out, the sound muffled and swallowed by Judar's frantic kisses.

It's interesting how they're in a frenzy right now, almost as though they're back to _that time_ , back to _that place_ , where they weren't sure if they would even live to see another minute, let alone another day.

"We did," Hakuryuu repeats, his words more understandable now that Judar has moved on from biting at his lips and licking at his gums. Judar is now alternating between scratching at the borderline of Hakuryuu's scars, then biting at them, creating his own boundary lines of red to separate the parts of Hakuryuu that have been burned by the world's unfairness at the parts that are burning with seething anger for being so hopeless and helpless _back then_.

Hakuryuu feels his skin itching for Judar to bite and mark and make it _hurt_.

Judar will not truly make it hurt and that's the most painful thing of all and that's what Hakuryuu _wants_.

Hakuryuu straddles Judar, his knees on both sides of Judar's hips, locking the other man underneath him, not that it stops Judar from wriggling this way and that, hands and mouth sliding down Hakuryuu's body with a mix of alarming ferocity and suffocating gentleness. Hakuryuu's hands alternate between pulling at Judar's precious hair and pushing the pads of his fingertips against the other's scalp. Even more than Hakuryuu, it's Judar who enjoys the opportunity of being made to suffer because of his chosen king's hands and ministrations. It's not enough to be called a masochist, because he dislikes any other sort of pain, but it's something that's uniquely Judar.

"Hey, Hakuryuu," Judar asks when he has reached the scars on Hakuryuu's inner thighs, looking up at Hakuryuu with that rare intensity that only appears when he's about to ask something stupid. "Will you be sad leaving those incompetent idiots behind?"

Very stupid indeed.

"Shut up, Judar."

"Hey! It's a valid question too," Judar says with a pout, an expression that's at great odds with what he's doing at the moment, which is scratching his name – no, _their name_ – into the soft skin of Hakuryuu's unmarked left thigh, just beside the clotted skin of his scars, uncomfortably near his groin. Judar's merciless in using the sharp ends of his nails too, leaving no room for Hakuryuu to claim that he can't _feel_ anything.

"It's… a… stupid question," Hakuryuu retorts, biting his lips at certain intervals so that he won't let out an embarrassing moan. There's no question after all that Judar certainly knows what he wants.

Judar rolls his eyes, before he decides to transfer his left hand's attention to stroking Hakuryuu, teasing the other's arousal despite the fact that he's been half-hard since they stumbled to this safehouse minutes after they had finally slaughtered that corrupt, parasitic organization, painting the walls and the ceilings with the splatter of that woman's blood and entrails.

"Haaa, if you say so, Hakuryuu," Judar says, unconvinced for a good reason. He has seen how Hakuryuu seems to be a different person when with those dumb idiots who actually believed that Hakuryuu's a goody-goody person. It's not the true Hakuryuu, who's been so fucked up by the world they're living in, but the time that Hakuryuu spent with them isn't something to joke about.

But then again, it's not like Hakuryuu would even _want_ to pretend like a truly good person for an extended amount of time.

"I told you to shut up, Judar."

Judar doesn't answer – but then again, he doesn't need to.

•••

 **part negative one:**  
law of retaliation  
_an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth;_

•••

"Ah, didn't you know? You're gonna be our _sacrifice_ tonight!"

Hakuryuu doesn't know what's happening.

Doesn't know, doesn't know, doesn't know.

What's going on? The last thing he remembers is saying goodbye to his brothers since they'll need to go around the world for some adult business. Judar was with him? He thinks. Yes. That's true. Because it makes more sense to assume that Judar's with him. There's not a lot of time that they're apart. But if Judar is with him, does that mean he's also here? If he's here, won't he help him?

There's something terribly bright and hot against his face.

He thinks it's a candle, but he's not very sure.

Everything hurts but he's not sure if he's even awake anymore.

"You've been given away to us by your family! Isn't that grand! They didn't even _sell_ you! They just gave you away!"

Hakuryuu doesn't understand.

••• **to be continued**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- i'm so sorry about the delay! orz  
> \- final part will be mostly flashback (as to how Judar & Hakuryuu ended up as serial killers orz) followed by a swing back to the present time... it will also be the reason why this falls under the "childhood" prompt 8D


End file.
